1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved system for the management of parking facilities. More particularly, the present invention relates to a computerized parking facility management system for capturing, tracking, and displaying the parking activities of vehicles in a parking facility. The present system further provides for the identification of each vehicle throughout the parking facility and the continuous determination of available parking spaces and their specific locations.
2. Description of the Related Art
During the last several years, the application of computer technology has had a tremendous impact on our lives. The use of items such as personal computers, hand-held personal organizers and computerized automotive controls are a few of the many examples how computer technology can facilitate in the efficient management of one""s daily life. With the rapidly expanding use of the Internet, the implementation of computer technology into our daily lives will no doubt continue.
Despite the tremendous advances in computer technology, the advances in parking facility management have not kept pace. To prove this, one only need to try to find parking at a crowded retail business, large public events, airports or busy downtown areas. In fact, motorists spend more time than ever looking for parking vacancies. Furthermore, parking facility managers are still largely unaware of the dynamics of their facilities and even the occurrence of a vehicle theft is often unknown until after the vehicle has been removed from the parking facility.
As more vehicles are manufactured and purchased each year and combined with the numbers of existing vehicles it is apparent that parking is and will continue to be a public concern. The rapid and continuing growth of cities and suburban areas has resulted in an exponential growth of traffic and a need to provide improved parking for business patrons at malls and shopping areas, airports, employees, downtown areas, and large public events. However, providing improved parking does not always demand the construction of more parking spaces, but may only require better management of existing spaces.
Rudimentary computerized control and management of parking facilities are known in the related art. Several basic functions such as imputing the time a customer arrives and departs a given parking facility and applying an established rate and fee are commonplace today. These basic capabilities are outlined in the patents issued to U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,727 to Mahmood, U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,624 to Anthonyson, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,052 to Matsuyama et al.
Attempts have been made at expanding the scope of these capabilities, such as having the parking facility system assist a customer in finding a vacant parking spot as described in the above patent to Mahmood. However, the Mahmood system only indicates vacant parking spaces closest to the entrance or exit of a parking facility, not the closest vacant parking space from any point within the parking facility. Moreover, Mahmood""s technique for the determination of parking vacancies is based solely on theoretical inventory in a database and not the actual spaces in the parking facility.
Basic vehicle theft deterrence from parking areas has been incorporated into computerized parking facility management systems, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,302 to Gerber. However, the Gerber system is dependent on ticket distribution and does not address other issues of parking facility management.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,268 to Moore discloses a computerized parking facility management system using electronic-based parking meters that help to apprehend parking violators. The Moore patent also outlines a method for detecting vacant parking spaces and monitors the movement of vehicles coming into and going out of a parking space. Moore""s system is only applicable to identifying violators in park-for-charge facilities that use parking meters. Other related art is significantly dependent on human intervention for proper operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,508 to Jackson and U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,547 to Auer disclose systems that monitor individual parking spaces to determine occupancy. The Jackson system subsequently provides notification to motorist of parking availability. However, neither system is capable of verifying whether an object within a parking space is, in fact, a vehicle. Without the capability to differentiate a vehicle from other objects, including pedestrians, these systems will consider any object detected to be a vehicle and respond accordingly. Furthermore, these prior art systems lack the capability of automatically associating specific vehicles with their parking activities or provides means to communicate all parking activities of a specific vehicle.
None of the above prior art inventions, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to provide real-time information on the various parking activities in a parking facility. Thus, a parking facility management system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
Accordingly, it is a general objective of the present invention to provide real-time information relative to the dynamics of parking facilities, such as the arrival and departure of specific vehicles, the exact parking locations of the vehicles, the physical identification of the specific vehicles and the continuous determination of available parking spaces throughout the parking facility.
It is another object of the present invention to provide managers and operators of parking facilities the capability to instantly ascertain the status of an entire parking facility through a single information source.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a management system that prevents the unauthorized removal of a vehicle from a parking facility and automatically notifies the appropriate authorities.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by the present invention which provides a computerized parking facility management system comprising vehicle characterization means for capturing contour features of each vehicle upon entry into the parking facility; means for tracking each vehicle within the parking facility; and computer means communicating with said vehicle characterization means and said tracking means, said computer means operative for processing and displaying real-time data pertaining to the location and identification of each vehicle within the parking facility.
Vehicle characterization is the system capture of a vehicle""s inherent and inseparable attributes that can exist only when and where the vehicle exists. Characterization results are used to establish a unique vehicle identity, which may serve as a reference for vehicle tracking. In the primary embodiment the vehicle characterization means includes the use of sensors to capture the vehicle""s contour. Digital cameras may also be used to photograph the vehicle and its license plate. The conversion of the license photograph to computer-recognizable text allows the present sytem to computer process the license to provide features such as the determination of the vehicle""s parked location by using the license as search criteria.
The computer means of the present system includes a comprehensive and versatile xe2x80x9cPark Interfacexe2x80x9d for viewing the dynamics of the parking facility and controlling the various system functions. The Park Interface is viewable on a computer screen and serves as a simulation of the parking facility activities by duplicating the real-time parking occupancies and vacancies occurring within the parking facility. The interface also provides for visual identification of vehicles parked in any space and includes statistics regarding the time and date of vehicle entry into the facility and the parking space. The computer means also provides for the capture, display, storage, organization, retrieval and documentation of all parking activities and vehicle identities of any vehicle that parks in the facility. The computer means of the present system may further include Internet, fax and e-mail capabilities to support the transmission of parking facility activities and vehicle identities. The capability to instantly see the status of an entire parking facility through a single information source is a significant advance over the prior art.
The availability of parking spaces within the facility is communicated to motorists through variable message displays. As sensors determine the presence or absence of vehicles within parking spaces the displays are continuously updated to reflect actual parking availability. The system further conveniences motorists by providing a vehicle theft deterrent system which activates alarms and barriers to restrict removal of the vehicle from the facility as well as to automatically notify police, local security, the vehicle owner and other key persons upon an attempted unauthorized removal of a vehicle. Thus, the present system not only makes finding available parking faster and easier, but also heightens security.
The present system thus provides managers and operators of large parking facilities a comprehensive knowledge of their parking occupancies and vacancies, when they occur and their exact locations. The capacity percentage of a parking facility is no longer a mystery with the present system since the continuous inventory of all vehicles and their respective locations is conveniently accessible. The present system may also be integrated with standard parking revenue controls to alleviate the need for manual and costly inventory operations.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.